Dodgers rookie Kim Hye-seong to begin season in minors

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Korean rookie Kim Hye-seong will begin the season in the minor leagues.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday (U.S. local time) that Kim will not travel with the club for the season-opening Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs next week and will instead start his first U.S. season with Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.

The Dodgers later made the official announcement of the move, saying they have optioned Kim and pitcher Bobby Miller, and reassigned five others to minor league camp.

After eight years with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Kim signed a three-year deal worth US$12.5 million with the Dodgers in January. There is also an option for two more years that would give Kim a chance to make up to $22 million total.

Notably, Kim's contract did not include a clause that would have allowed him to decline a move to the minors. Among South Korean players who have been in the majors before Kim, former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Kim Hyun-soo and Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin had those rights inserted in their deals.

Former San Diego Padres infielder Kim Ha-seong had the right to refuse an assignment to the minors starting in his third season with them in 2023.

Kim, 26, had mostly played second base with the Heroes in recent seasons, winning the first two editions of the KBO Fielding Award in 2023 and 2024. The path to a regular gig with the Dodgers seemed to open up when the Dodgers traded their everyday second baseman from last season, Gavin Lux, to the Cincinnati Reds just three days after signing Kim.

However, the South Korean player has struggled at the plate during spring training while undergoing a swinging change. He has played three positions so far — second base, shortstop and center field — as the Dodgers are trying to turn him into a utility man.

Before leaving for the United States in January, Kim had told South Korean reporters that his goal was to make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster.

Earlier in spring training, Roberts lauded Kim's bat-to-ball skills and his defensive chops, but also said the Dodgers would not force Kim into a starting role at the expense of his development at the major-league level.

Before Roberts announced his decision Tuesday, Kim batted 0-for-2 with a strikeout against the Cleveland Guardians at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. His batting average dropped to .207. (Yonhap)